TLC’s newest show features a Canadian pair’s 60-day Royal Enfield ride across India

Riding north from Kolkata along the Bangladesh border, brothers Ryan and Colin Pyle, for the first time in their 60-day India road trip, wished they could have stayed in the comfort of their home at Toronto. “The roads were near non-existent, and the density of people on the streets was overwhelming,” begins Colin, the younger Pyle, who quit his currency trading enterprise to join his photographer brother for a round -the-world road trip. The brothers’ exploits, all captured on a film will be broadcast in a six-part series on TLC, named Tough Rides: India.
Indian spread
“It all started in 2010, when Ryan suggested we ride through China with a film crew to unravel the vast country. After China, we were looking for a country vast in culture, language and religion and the obvious choice was India,” says the 35-year-old Colin, who had to choose a Royal Enfield over BMW for India due to the wide availability of spare parts and service support. The Colins’ China ride was documented in the book, The Middle Kingdom Ride: Two Brothers, Two Motorcycles, One Epic Journey Around China. Starting from Delhi, the brothers ride through Manali, Mumbai, Goa, Kerala, Puducherry, and back to Agra through Varanasi and Darjeeling. “Enroute, we try our hands at para gliding in Manali, visit the Karni Mata Temple near Bikaner, which is known as the rat temple and even encounter the Wagah border ceremony,” adds Colin, who says that he found Indians warm, friendly and always open to interaction as opposed to his experience in China.
America to Russia
The brothers, also the producers of the show, mention that they had to get physically fit as eight to 10 hours of continuous riding with added vigilance was needed to navigate the Indian roads. “We have recently finished a Tough Rides season in Brazil and will soon ride through Russia. Though we are unaware of the schedule, we are sure our Indian viewers can expect to see these episodes in the future,” says Colin signing off.
Mondays, 10 pm on TLC